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Rafter / Field notes No. 01
Draft · anonymized for reviewBetter work. Bigger bills.
Same payment terms.
An e-commerce operator put AI to work building Shopify storefronts for customers. The work got faster. His customers still took 60 to 90 days to pay.
- The business
- Shopify storefronts
- Built and maintained for clients
- The cost shift
- +300%
- Monthly increase in AI spend
- The wait
- 60–90 days
- Customer payment terms
01 / The shift
From a subscription
to a running cost.
Already running an e-commerce business with millions in annual revenue, the owner added a new business offering: setting up Shopify stores for other companies, then improving and maintaining them.
AI tools made the work better and faster. But unlike a fixed software subscription, usage-based credits can run out in the middle of a project. More work meant more refills, sometimes several in a week.
“It automatically charges my card to refill that bank of credits. It's like $800 a swipe, and now some weeks we're doing that multiple times a week.”
“I was shocked when I saw my credit card bill last month, and I saw ChatGPT. For me, it was in the category of Monday.com, and now it's in the category of payroll.”
02 / The squeeze
The bill doesn't
wait for the client.
Credits refill automatically. The card is charged. His customer invoice payment is still two to three months away. A significant card limit doesn't remove that timing gap: the owner still has to find the cash to pay the balance.
Each new storefront adds costs before it brings cash back into the business.
While you work
AI credits charged
The cash gap
60–90 days later
Customer pays
03 / The daily reality
Growing the business.
Managing the squeeze.
The owner describes spending an hour every day managing cash flow, making sure there is enough at month-end for both the card bill and payroll: $50,000 to pay the Amex bill, $15,000 to make payroll.
“We're not underwater,
but the water's up to my eyeballs.”
“If you took the rising AI spend out of the cash I need to come up with to keep my account current, that would give me breathing room.”
04 / Where Rafter fits
Fund the gap.
Not the whole business.
Rafter is a revolving line sized to your verified AI spend. Draw when the bill lands. Pay it down monthly.
This is a potential fit, not a funded customer outcome. No Rafter loan or result is represented in this case study.
Subject to eligibility and approval. Available in select states. Loans made by Round Hill Technologies, Inc. d/b/a Rafter; all terms are provided in writing before you commit.